June 11, 1982

By J.B. CARLILE
Of the World Staff

STILWELL - At least it didn't rain during the day.

The torrential rains that sent hundreds of bicycling campers to cover Wednesday would have caused even more problems if the bikers had still been strung out all over the highway between Adair and Jay.

Dennis Shelton, driver of the air-conditioned MK&O bus that FreeWheel '82 bikers call the "Super Sag," had picked up lots of bikers all week when the hot sun was too much.

The in Wednesday night's rain he shuttled the shivering crew back and forth to Adair schools and other refuges.

Ironically, Shelton's "day job" is just the opposite. He is directed to find his first sag stop and pick up riders along the way.

Shelton stops with his water jugs and helps those who continue on the 60 or so miles each day, and then leapfrogs to his second sag stop to give more water before divining on in to the campground in the late afternoon.

"I try to keep from shuttling back and forth to the campgrounds. I need to stay at my sag stop for those riders who are counting on me being there," Shelton said.

"Depending on how late in the day it is, though, sometimes I ask for a volunteer to stay at the say stop with the water jugs and wait for me to get back from the campgrounds," he said.

Most of the bikers Thursday were so glad to see the warm sun and scenic Illinois River tat the stayed on their bikes.

That was good news for the other sag drivers, and for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Two troopers patrol the bike route each day of the trip, cruising back and forth and "just doing whatever needs to be done," Darrell Van Horn said.

Sag drivers, troopers and other officials all tune in their two-way radios to channel 14, monitoring each other and the bicyclers.

One of the officials who is considered an expert on most aspects of the bike ride comes all the way from North Carolina each year. But he can't imagine anybody really thinking it's fun to ride a bicycle across this state or any other.

Early Allen drives the baggage truck that Facet Enterprises donates each year.

In the off-season, Allen knows what free wheeling really means. He drives 18-wheel tractor-trailer loads to Facet plants across the country. But each June since 1979 he has joined the hundreds of bicyclists and toured Oklahoma.

"I just happened to be in Tulsa when they started it and they asked me to go. They've been calling me back every year," he said with an ornery grin.

His day begins before sunrise, when campers begin to toss sleeping bags onto the truck, and ends late in the afternoon when they slowly drag them off again.

"I've wondered why I couldn't end up like Elvis Presley or somebody - he was a truck driver too, you know," Allen says with another smile.

"I'm still doing the same thing I stared doing."

A truck driver for about 30 years, Allen loves to tell stories - a few about bicycling- but most are on himself.

"The boss man asked me one time 'Where'd you get that name Early? You're never on time, let alone early,' " Allen quips.

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